The Office Is Finished!

Hey All!

I want to thank all subscribers who have been patient with my radio silence over the last two weeks. We've been hard at work putting the finishing touches on the office.

I'm excited to report that this office is finally ready for recording. Over the last two weeks, we finished installing a workspace, desk runner, and lighting. It's been a long project, but it feels great to be ready to invite people to the space for podcast recording.

Also, if you couldn't tell, it's an excellent spot for watching movies.

I look forward to releasing more content and inviting more songwriters to the podcast for interviews and insights.

The Songwriting Commonplace Book

I've mentioned a few times that I am interested in philosophy in addition to songwriting.

The approach of songwriters like Kevin Barnes and Jess Weiss is a massive influence on my songwriting. Both are songwriters that take their inspiration from dense philosophical texts. That approach always resonated with me as someone who wasn't excited about writing love songs.

The intersection of these two worlds recently inspired me to start a Songwriting Commonplace Book.

In philosophical study, a commonplace book is a repository of quotes and arguments from whatever you read. It's like a weigh station for ideas that can act as fodder for philosophical writing. You write insights down as you read, then turn them into essays or treatises when you return to them.

This technique could have interesting results in the context of songwriting. Nashville songwriters are known for carrying "Hook Books" with lines or song titles written down. You can consult the hook book for ideas to riff on when you go to a session.

Combining the hook book and commonplace book could be really interesting. By writing down lyric ideas, song analyses, and quotes from text or film in one place, one could create a deep well of content to develop associatively.

I'm excited to test this idea and see if it bears any fruit.

Logic Pro for iPad

I don't know what interest y'all may have in the tools I'm using for songwriting, but Apple recently released Logic Pro on iPad, and it's changing my life.

I was genuinely starting to believe I'd never see the day.

The application is terrific! It puts the power of Logic Pro in a small form factor and builds on the part of Logic that is best suited for travel: composition.

Logic Pro for iPad doesn't boast its Mac counterpart's full audio editing features. And typically, that type of thing might be considered a strike. But this application knows its strength. Logic is a program that was built around midi composition.

I used to love my QY700 sequencer because I could curl up on the couch and program all the tedious midi stuff on a tiny device without using a mouse. Logic Pro for iPad lets me do just that.

The Mac and iPad versions complement each other well. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone doing fine audio editing, but it is perfect for composing on the go and even recording tracks. I'm looking forward to using this device for more songs.